


Hennepin Avenue

by tooralooryeaye



Series: Quite Frankly [1]
Category: Hanson (Band)
Genre: Anonymity, Closeted Character, Drabble, Drabble Sequence, Drunken Flirting, Friendship, Gen, Hanson - Anthem Era, Implied Slash, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Mystery Character(s), Pseudonyms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 12:50:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13636647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tooralooryeaye/pseuds/tooralooryeaye
Summary: Round the city, round the clockEverybody needs youNo, you can't make everybody equalAlthough you got beaucoup family, you don't even got nobody being honest with you.





	1. 8:27pm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Boozey_St_John](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boozey_St_John/gifts).



"You're welcome to join...it's just..." She paused to apply eyeliner. "...not your thing?"

He sipped his whiskey sour. The alcohol warmed his chest, but the bubbles tickled his tongue.

"I could use a change of pace."

She paused again, eyeliner wand pointed high like a scepter. Gazes met briefly in the mirror.

"You sure?"

He licked his lips. The tart lime stung. _Fruity._ "Definitely."

She faced him, one eyebrow cocked high. "You'll fit in better if you stood out more. Would you wear that pink blazer again?"

Taylor downed the last of his drink. Effervescence stirred in his belly.


	2. 10:02pm

  
He remained silent en route. Between hectic texts and calls to confirm plans, Denise pretended not to notice.

She motioned air quotes as the Lyft pulled away. "'JT,' right?"

Dance music thumped, muffled by brick walls.

Taylor nodded once. He ignored the lock of hair that fell over his face. "Right."

Denise gently offered her wrist to the burly security personnel checking the door, her lashes batting.

"He's with me. We tip well."  
  
A meaty hand squeezed Denise's as he applied a wristband. Beady eyes glanced at Taylor and the guard fingered the bill tucked between her thumb and palm.


	3. 10:35pm

  
Denise pushed a shot glass into his hands, opaque red booze jostling. Taylor swirled it and sniffed. He pulled a face.

"Skittles!" Denise offered. She tossed her sable mane."Taste the rainbow!"

 _Touch, but don't taste_. He returned her grin and lifted his glass. "To new things."

Taylor flung his head back. He shuddered at the shock of vodka. Denise laughed, her green eyes glittering like the sequins she wore. _Taste, but don't swallow._

Under the flash of strobe lights, brown eyes caught his gaze.  
  
"Let's go upstairs!" Denise pulled his sleeve. They compromised a pink button-down for the blazer.


	4. 11:58pm

Fat Tire softened the burn of liquor, but Taylor still felt hazy. He had "seen" drag queens before. Notable personae at red carpets, mostly. But he had not truly _seen_ drag until now.

Brown Eyes from downstairs suddenly appeared next to their booth, drink in hand. Cream lace with a sheer slip contrasted her skin, equally as intense and dark as her eyes. She didn't disguise her heady stare and ran a hand through her fresh shape up cut.

He sipped his beer and invited her to sit with a pat on the seat next over. Denise elbowed his ribs.

 


	5. 12:37am

He'd mastered charming pleasantries over the years. To their credit, Denise's friends ignored the obvious and remained equally polite company. In turn, Taylor pretended that the booze abated his anxiety, instead of the exuberant freedom fizzing in the atmosphere.

Without internal alarms, he didn't have to consider that Denise was right: he fit in. Hidden in plain sight.

Their booth exploded with laughter when the emcee cracked a joke. Chris (Brown Eyes) gripped his shoulder as she recovered from her giggles. He didn't have to claim that the hand he rested on her thigh in return had any other pretense.


	6. 1:42am

"JT," Denise hissed. She yanked his sleeve. _"Jay!"_

Taylor was too drunk to be annoyed. He ignored her.

Chris leaned in and fingered the cross on his choker. Used to being touched, Taylor still sucked in a breath. Vanilla and cocoa butter.

"You're stunning."

Chris chuckled. Her baritone mirth rumbled and settled deep in his core, underneath the churning alcohol, louder than the pulsing music.

Her hand moved up his neck and threaded through his hair.

Taylor's gaze fell to her flat chest and muscular thighs. Understanding dawned, and he realized he didn't care.

He closed the space between them.


	7. 9:17am

Ike's disappointment ("Why didn't you tell me?") and Zac's silence weren't surprising.

Denise slammed a bottle of Vitaminwater on the nightstand next to the Tylenol. "Your fans," she'd growled, "Are going to eat me alive. This will be my fault."

She slammed the door shut just as hard.

Sunglasses and the Indy hat would hardly disguise him at this point, but he wore them anyway. The Uber Lux driver only glanced sideways once.

He re-read his wife's text: _home in 12 hours or I call a lawyer._

Taylor hoped he hadn't given Chris his number.

His phone chimed anyway.

_Damnit._


End file.
